Storage systems are used in warehouses, department stores and other storage facilities. Conventional storage systems include a plurality of storage racks having shelves that may support large amounts of heavy materials, including shipping pallets that may be loaded with cartons of goods. Storage racks often employ a plurality of vertical columns that are positioned on a base or floor and support a plurality of horizontal shelf platforms on which the stored goods are positioned. Pallets of the goods are typically placed on the shelves with a forklift or other mechanized device.
Concerns have been raised, due to the size, weight and value of the pallets and the possibility that a pallet will be accidently pushed off the edge of a rack as, for example, a forklift is used to place a new pallet on the shelf. A fallen pallet is both dangerous and costly. Accordingly, safety systems have been employed to enhance the safety and minimize the risk of mishandling or miss loading pallets of goods onto the shelves of pallet racks.
An example of a conventional pallet stop 100 is shown generally in Fig. 1. Conventional pallet stop 100 is attached to a pallet rack 150, which itself supports a plurality of pallets 160. Each pallet 160 supports a plurality of boxes of goods 170. A perspective view of conventional pallet stop 100 is also shown in FIG. 2.
Conventional pallet stop 100 includes in attachment plate section 110, integrally joined to a support ledge section 120, which itself is integrally joined to a top plate section 130. Attachment plate 110 includes a pair of through-holes 111. A pair of bolts 112 extend through holes 111, into corresponding holes (not shown) in pallet rack 150.
Conventional pallet stop 100 has not been found to be fully satisfactory. For example, in order to provide a sufficient measure of safety, conventional pallet stop 100 must be sufficiently massive, in terms of the thickness of the material and overall size, in order to prevent bending either from direct or glancing contact between pallet 160 or other objects on rack 150 and top arm 130. Conventional pallet stops are commonly at least 0.25 inches thick or made from 4 gauge or thicker steel and require two bolts to prevent it from pivoting about a single bolt. This undesirably interferes with the assembly process.
In addition, different pallet rack systems employ shelves with different thicknesses. For example, some shelves may have a height of about 4 inches, while others may have a height of about 3 inches. It can be undesirable to require warehouses to have two sets of pallet stops for the differently sized racks.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved pallet stop that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art.